Book picks similar to
Driving Heat by Zuri Day
romance
audiobooks
african-american-fiction
african-american-romance
The Worst Best Man
Mia Sosa - 2020
Yeah, the irony isn’t lost on Carolina Santos, either. But despite that embarrassing blip from her past, Lina’s managed to make other people’s dreams come true as a top-tier wedding coordinator in DC. After impressing an influential guest, she’s offered an opportunity that could change her life. There’s just one hitch… she has to collaborate with the best (make that worst) man from her own failed nuptials. Tired of living in his older brother’s shadow, marketing expert Max Hartley is determined to make his mark with a coveted hotel client looking to expand its brand. Then he learns he’ll be working with his brother’s whip-smart, stunning —absolutely off-limits — ex-fiancée. And she loathes him. If they can survive the next few weeks and nail their presentation without killing each other, they’ll both come out ahead. Except Max has been public enemy number one ever since he encouraged his brother to jilt the bride, and Lina’s ready to dish out a little payback of her own. But even the best laid plans can go awry, and soon Lina and Max discover animosity may not be the only emotion creating sparks between them. Still, this star-crossed couple can never be more than temporary playmates because Lina isn’t interested in falling in love and Max refuses to play runner-up to his brother ever again...
Beach Read
Emily Henry - 2020
January Andrews writes bestselling romance. When she pens a happily ever after, he kills off his entire cast.They’re polar opposites.In fact, the only thing they have in common is that for the next three months, they're living in neighboring beach houses, broke, and bogged down with writer's block.Until, one hazy evening, one thing leads to another and they strike a deal designed to force them out of their creative ruts: Augustus will spend the summer writing something happy, and January will pen the next Great American Novel. She’ll take him on field trips worthy of any rom-com montage, and he’ll take her to interview surviving members of a backwoods death cult (obviously). Everyone will finish a book and no one will fall in love. Really.
The Roommate
Rosie Danan - 2020
The Wheatons are infamous among the east coast elite for their lack of impulse control, except for their daughter Clara. She’s the consummate socialite: over-achieving, well-mannered, predictable. But every Wheaton has their weakness. When Clara’s childhood crush invites her to move cross-country, the offer is too much to resist. Unfortunately, it’s also too good to be true.After a bait-and-switch, Clara finds herself sharing a lease with a charming stranger. Josh might be a bit too perceptive—not to mention handsome—for comfort, but there’s a good chance he and Clara could have survived sharing a summer sublet if she hadn’t looked him up on the Internet... Once she learns how Josh has made a name for himself, Clara realizes living with him might make her the Wheaton’s most scandalous story yet. His professional prowess inspires her to take tackling the stigma against female desire into her own hands. They may not agree on much, but Josh and Clara both believe women deserve better sex. What they decide to do about it will change both of their lives, and if they’re lucky, they’ll help everyone else get lucky too.
Would Like to Meet
Rachel Winters - 2019
But now the TV and film agency she's been running behind the scenes is in trouble, and Evie will lose her job unless she can convince the agency's biggest and most arrogant client, Ezra Chester, to finish writing the script for a Hollywood romantic comedy. The catch? Ezra is suffering from writer's block--and he'll only put pen to paper if singleton Evie can prove to him that you can fall in love like they do in the movies. With the future of the agency in jeopardy, Evie embarks on a mission to meet a man the way Sally met Harry or Hugh Grant met Julia Roberts. But in the course of testing out the meet-cute scenes from classic romantic comedies IRL, not only will Evie encounter one humiliating situation after another, but she'll have to confront the romantic past that soured her on love. In a novel as hilarious as it is heartwarming, debut author Rachel Winters proves that sometimes real life is better than the movies--and that the best kind of meet-cutes happen when you least expect them.
Close Enough to Touch
Colleen Oakley - 2017
With a rare allergy to human touch, any skin-to-skin contact could literally kill her. But after retreating into solitude for nearly ten years, Jubilee’s decided to brave the world again, despite the risks. Armed with a pair of gloves, long sleeves, and her trusty bicycle, she finally ventures out the front door—and into her future. Eric Keegan has troubles of his own. With his daughter from a failed marriage no longer speaking to him, and his brilliant, if psychologically troubled, adopted son attempting telekinesis, Eric’s struggling to figure out how his life got so off course, and how to be the dad—and man—he wants so desperately to be. So when an encounter over the check-out desk at the local library entangles his life with that of a beautiful—albeit eccentric—woman, he finds himself wanting nothing more than to be near her.
After All
Karina Halle - 2017
Light, fun and sexy as sin, it's the PERFECT SUMMER READ. From the NYT and USA Today bestselling author of The Pact and Before I Ever Met You. Emmett Hill is the perfect gentleman. At least that's what his PR team wants the world to think. Tall, handsome, and wickedly charming, Emmett is in the midst of a career comeback, having landed the role of a villain in a popular TV show. The only problem is, Emmett has come a long way from the "nice guy" characters he used to play and his old squeaky clean image is quickly being tarnished by bar fights, womanizing and bad boy behaviour. Considering he's two years shy of forty, it's an act he needs to drop. And fast. Enter Alyssa Martin. At twenty-eight, Alyssa is tired and ready for a change. Her job as office manager has grown stagnant and unfulfilling, while she's become continuously frustrated with Vancouver's lackluster dating scene, always searching for Mr. Right in a city of Mr. Wrongs. When Emmett and Alyssa's paths cross at a mutual friend's wedding, their chemistry is off-the-charts hot, culminating in a steamy one-night stand. What neither expected was for the media catch wind of their coupling - and run with it. Now Emmett has to convince Alyssa to date him for the sake of his image. Her curvy, cute and "normal" persona is just the ticket to smoothing out his reputation, while Emmett provides Alyssa with the excitement and change her life has been lacking. The only problem is, the two fight like cats and dogs outside of the bedroom. And considering their arrangement is just for show, they shouldn't be in the bedroom with each other anyway. Right? Try telling them that.
When Dimple Met Rishi
Sandhya Menon - 2017
With graduation behind her, she’s more than ready for a break from her family—and from Mamma’s inexplicable obsession with her finding the “Ideal Indian Husband.” Ugh. Dimple knows they must respect her principles on some level, though. If they truly believed she needed a husband right now, they wouldn’t have paid for her to attend a summer program for aspiring web developers…right?Rishi Patel is a hopeless romantic. So when his parents tell him that his future wife will be attending the same summer program—wherein he’ll have to woo her—he’s totally on board. Because as silly as it sounds to most people in his life, Rishi wants to be arranged, believes in the power of tradition, stability, and being a part of something much bigger than himself.The Shahs and Patels didn’t mean to start turning the wheels on this “suggested arrangement” so early in their children’s lives, but when they noticed them both gravitating toward the same summer program, they figured, Why not?Dimple and Rishi may think they have each other figured out. But when opposites clash, love works hard to prove itself in the most unexpected ways.
A Sweet Mess
Jayci Lee - 2020
When a cake mix-up and a harsh review threaten all of her hard work and her livelihood, she never thought the jaded food critic would turn out to be her one-night stand. And she sure as hell never thought she’d see her gorgeous Korean unicorn again. But when Landon Kim waltzes into her bakery trying to clean up the mess he had a huge hand in making, Aubrey is torn between throwing and hearing him out.When she hears his plan to help save her business, Aubrey knows that spending three weeks in California wine country working with Landon is a sure recipe for disaster. Her head is telling her to take the chance to save her bakery while her heart—and her hormones—are at war on whether to give him a second chance. And it just so happens that Landon’s meddling friends want them to spend those three weeks as close as possible...by sharing a villa.When things start heating up, both in and out of the kitchen, Aubrey will have to make a choice—to stick it out or risk her heart.
Yes & I Love You
Roni Loren - 2021
But no one knows Hollyn, the real face behind the media star...or the fear that keeps her isolated. When her boss tells her she needs to add video to her blog or lose her job, she's forced to rely on an unexpected source to help her face her fears.When aspiring actor Jasper Deares finds out the shy woman who orders coffee every day is actually Miz Poppy, he realizes he has a golden opportunity to get the media attention his acting career needs. All he has to do is help Hollyn come out of her shell…and through their growing connection, finally find her voice.A beautifully emotional new contemporary romance from New York Times and USA Today bestseller Roni Loren.
Secret Indiscretions
Trice Hickman - 2015
Her husband, Johnny, is suddenly hard to reach, distant, and works late too often for Geneva not to be suspicious. Is it because she’s been pressuring him about having a baby? Feeling lonely and neglected, Geneva bonds with Samuel Owens, a colleague who is having marital trouble of his own. Soon, their relationship blossoms into an uncontrollable affair. Bored with her husband, Samuel, and dead set against having a child with him, Vivana Owens is biding her time until she’s ready to leave—and she’s spending it with Johnny Mayfield. It’s just a fling—until Vivana becomes obsessed with Johnny, especially once he tries to win back his wife. But affairs don’t end easy—and soon one of the unfaithfuls will end up dead, one will end up in jail, and one just might get away with murder… Praise for Playing the Hand You’re Dealt “Will keep you guessing straight through to the explosive ending."—Victoria Christopher Murray “Unforgettable characters and a page-turning storyline.”—Lutishia Lovely
A Love Hate Thing
Whitney D. Grandison - 2020
Not that he cares. After recovering from being shot and surviving the rough streets of Lindenwood, he doesn’t care about anyone or anything, much less how the rest of his life will play out.Golden girl Nandy Smith has spent most of her life building the pristine image that it takes to fit in when it comes to her hometown Pacific Hills where image is everything. After learning that her parents are taking in a troubled teen boy, Nandy fears her summer plans, as well as her reputation, will go up in flames. Now with Trice living under the same roof, the wall between their bedrooms feels as thin as the line between love and hate. Beneath the angst, their growing attraction won’t be denied. Through time, Trice brings Nandy out of her shell, and Nandy attempts to melt the ice that’s taken Trice’s heart and being. Only, with the ever-present pull back to the Lindenwood streets, it’ll be a wonder if Trice makes it through this summer at all.
Under Her Skin
Susan Mallery - 2009
All of Titanville will be buzzing. Not that she has any other choice. Faced with exactly thirty days to come up with two million dollars, she is out of options. Marry Cruz Rodriguez or lose everything - the successful day spa she built herself, her tyrant of a father's respect. And the long-standing competition with her sisters for the family business.Cruz has money, success, smoldering good looks - everything but the blue blood needed to become a true member of Texas society. If Lexi agrees to be his fiancée for six months, lending him her famous father's influence and connections, he'll hand her a check on the spot. And in six months they'll go their separate ways.But neither one is prepared for their long-ago shared passion to throw a wrench into what would seem to be the perfect deal....
Wanderlust
Lauren Blakely - 2018
All I have to do is board a plane, and I'll be on my way to fulfilling a promise I made long ago. Bonus points -- my last week in Paris looks to be even better when I meet a gorgeous, clever American woman and make plans to take her back to my flat that night.But before we can get together for what would surely be a fantastic final fling, my boss hits me with a double whammy. My previous client didn't pay, so there's no trip, and the new client I now desperately need is none other than the tempting American I'm about to take home. Have I mentioned this timing bloody sucks? ***I'll admit it -- I have a big weakness for a hot British accent. As in, they make me swoon, sigh, and want to toss my panties. Good thing I can avoid that kind of temptation in Paris. So it's just my luck that the man who's the key to success in my new job is the man whose voice makes me melt. Oh, and we have to spend all our days together for work.Thanks a lot, fate. To top it off, I quickly learn he's witty, kind and has a heart and mind I'm falling for fast.All I have to do is resist him every single freaking day. That's so easy. Not.But then I learn that's nothing compared to the real hurdle we face.What could go wrong with falling in love in Paris? Nearly everything, it seems...
Envy
Sandra Brown - 2001
Maris is intrigued enough to search for him.Her trip to Georgia to meet the mysterious author takes her to an eerie, ruined cotton plantation, where Maris finds Parker Evans, a man confined to a wheelchair who carefully hides his past. Coaxing his novel from him chaper by chapter, Maris becomes caught up in his tale of two friends who rent a boat with a young woman for a night of sex and drinking. Only one person will return from that trip.Disturbed about her sexual attraction to Parker and worried about her marriage to author and her co-publisher Noah Reed, Maris returns to New York, where the delivery of Parker's newest chapters convince her they are more than fiction. She wonders how well she knows her husband and begins a harrowing search for a truth that ties back to a terrifying crime and a man who will use her, or anyone, to get his revenge.©2001 Sandra Brown Management, Ltd; (P)2001 Simon & Schuster Inc.; AUDIOWORKS Is an Imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division, Simon & Schuster Inc.
Disengaged
Beth Orsoff - 2011
Unfortunately that package also includes a domineering future mother-in-law and serious wedding jitters.The thirty-two-year-old Los Angeles entertainment accountant would rather elope, but fiancé Brad seems incapable of saying “no” to mommy’s wedding demands. Allie wonders if anyone knows—or cares—that she is the one who’s getting married.Her closest friends are too engrossed in their own messy love lives to offer any guidance, and Allie’s mother’s views on marriage would make a strident feminist blush. The only one who seems interested in what Allie thinks is a good- looking acquaintance by the name of Jax Montgomery. But Jax’s attentions have Allie questioning just what it is she truly wants.Beth Orsoff’s hilarious and heartfelt romp Disengaged is all about getting to “I do” by saying “I won’t.”